Jomo Sono: Bafana Bafana will win their 2019 Afcon group

The Jomo Cosmos coach strongly believes that the 1996 Afcon winners will reach the knockout stages of the continental tournament

Former South Africa head coach Ephraim 'Jomo' Sono is confident that Bafana Bafana will perform well at the upcoming 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals.

Bafana have been drawn against Ivory Coast, Morocco and Namibia in Group D and Egypt will host the tournament between June 21 and July 19.

A Bafana side which was coached by Sono faced the same teams at the 1998 Afcon finals in Burkina Faso and legendary coach believes that South Africa will win the group.

“I believe that we can top the group. To be honest nothing is impossible,” Sono told The Citizen .

“When we played Morocco in 1998 they were number one on the continent and we were somewhere down there and we knocked them out in the quarterfinals. It is up to how the players are prepared for the day and how the coach prepares his team on the day," he continued.

Sono, whose Bafana side finished second after losing to Egypt in the final, expected Stuart Baxter's men to reach the knockout stages of the continental tournament.

“I strongly believe we can reach the knockout stages because there are four teams that can qualify as third-placed finishers. We have a chance,” he added.

Sono also advised thet Bafana technical that it is important for the players to be mentally fit ahead of the competition.

“Sometimes it is not about preparing the players physically, it is about the mental strength as well. We need that because we are not playing at home. We need to make sure that the head is right and they go out there and fight," he explained.

The Orlando Pirates legend went on to state that Bafana will defeat their Southern African rivals Namibia, who are scheduled to face South Africa in the second game.

“South Africa will beat Namibia, make no mistake. We can beat them any time. In the morning, afternoon, at night, just know that South Africa will beat Namibia. It does not matter where they play," he indicated.

“Whether there are floodlights or there are no floodlights, South Africa will beat Namibia, definitely,” he concluded.

Sono masterminded a 4-0 victory over Namibia at the 1998 Afcon finals with Benni MCarthy scoring four goals.